Oh Lord, give me a sign!

Many times, as we travel the road called life, we wish that God would just give us a sign. You know…the flashy neon light type that sticks out more than any other? Something obvious so we don’t have to work so hard or guess which way to go.

On the road, signs are easy to recognize by shape and color. We have become so accustomed to this fact that our brains automatically process the instructions as we zoom by.

When you approach a stop sign, what do you do? (stop, duh). But beyond stopping, there are some automatic instructions ingrained in drivers that should be processed at the first glance of the red octagon shape: Come to a complete stop. (no rolling through) First come first go or when in doubt, cars on the right have the right-of- way.

 

When you see the yellow diamond shape sign with two arrows joining into one, you know traffic is merging into the same lane. Manners and common sense tell drivers to allow space and/or adjust speed to give in to the inevitable. All of us must work together to go with the flow of traffic.

What about the upside-down red triangle; the YIELD sign? In some countries, they call it “Give Way”. Much to the chagrin of some drivers, it is NOT the same as stop or merge. If you stop at a yield sign and there is no traffic coming to “yield to” you might find yourself rear-ended by someone who also is looking left and seeing a clear road. If you try to force your way by merging into the flow of traffic instead of waiting for it to be clear, besides the blaring of horns, angry looks, and possible *gestures*…you could cause an accident.

The act of yielding in traffic is a skill. A distracted driver could be dangerous. I wouldn't recommend adjusting the radio or talking on your phone at this time. You prepare yourself to look to your left as you approach the sign. Read the traffic, make the decision to continue on without hesitation, or give way to the cars already on the main thoroughfare, allowing them to go on ahead of you.

Using this concept, let’s address the Christianese phrase “Yield to the Holy Spirit”.

One of the characteristics scripture tells us about the Holy Spirit is the ability to guide us. 

John 16:13 says:

“But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…”

In essence, like the dove that descended upon Jesus at His baptism, the Holy Spirit is our sign from God.  If we are aware of the Spirit of Truth’s character, we will recognize the signs we are to follow and obey.

How do we recognize the signs? When we prepared to take our driver’s license test, we studied the manual. We learned to identify the road signs and process them easily. Just like a driver understanding the red octagon, yellow diamond arrows, and yes…even the red upside-down triangle, we can learn to recognize a sign from God.

Study His manual and become familiar with His signs. Set down your distractions (phone, computers, tv, etc). Read the traffic around you, making the decision to continue on if it looks clear... or give way to the one who is on the road ahead of you, designated to be your guide.

Yield to the Holy Spirit…

“…because all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14